B2B Research

Prepared for:

in association with HK IPD, IP Australia

INTRODUCTION: B2B RESEARCH

The focus of this report is on market research relating to IP Public Education and Awareness. However, during the preliminary research phase it became evident that a number of IP agencies have either exclusively or largely focused on IP E&A on the business community or parts thereof. Types of projects revealed include: SMEs baseline awareness of IP Enterprise readiness for changes to IP regulations Response to Small Business education campaign IP management practices within the business community Benchmarking of best practices (case studies) Enterprise scorecards for IP awareness - exploitation Hypothesis: the perception of most IP agencies is that B2B market research on IP awareness and attitudes is of greater value than public awareness surveys. Many of the lessons learned in B2B IP E&A research will equally apply to public IP E&A research. However, the characteristics of B2B research pose some very specific research challenges and may involve some different skill sets.

The issues to be covered in this chapter include:

B2B market research defined How B2B research differs B2B Sampling Appropriate data collection methods B2B response rates Respondent rights

1) B2B MARKET RESEARCH DEFINED

B2B research involves the investigation of any market where the targets to be examined are acting in their capacity as employees of commercial enterprises or other organisations. In short, they are not acting solely in their own personal interest. Public IP E&A surveys, by contrast, normally include individualsmembers of the publicthat buy and/or use products and services on their own behalf. Where consumer and commercial overlap There is a large and growing grey area between B2B and purely public research. This occurs when the business unit is large and indistinguishable from the individual or family unit. Example 1: Smallholder farmers Is a smallholder farmer in China or India an individual consumer of pesticide (or office software for that matter) or is he/she a corporate consumer? Many marketers have chosen to brand and market agricultural inputs or other products used for running a farm as consumer goods. Example 2: SOHO entrepreneurs Small office/home office entrepreneurs (SOHO) have grown sharply in numbers in recent years. Many of these entrepreneurs are involved in creative or IT related business, others are the sole proprietor of a myriad of service companies (plumbers, retailers, etc.). Both groups may act as commercial entrepreneurs, but think and behave as individuals.
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2) HOW B2B RESEARCH DIFFERS

B2B research is different from consumer research primarily because: (1) the nature of the decision process is much more complex To understand the awareness and behaviour of organisations, the B2B survey will usually target those individuals who make or significantly contribute to decisions, buy goods and services, use IP agency services and so on, as a part of their terms of employment.

The importance of understanding decision making within organisations is well documented in The New Strategic Selling. It identifies four main types of influencers:
Decision-making process / decision influencers 1. Economic Buyer: holds purse strings 2. The User: most significantly impacted 3. Technical Buyer: responsible for integrating the new solution 4. The Coach: champion to guide the sale process

(2) the sample frame is more difficult to define/isolate Sampling for B2B surveys follows much the same procedure as sampling for surveys of the general public. However, one additional difficulty is the identification of a suitable sample frame (a comprehensive list of population elements from which the units to be sampled can be selected). The universe of enterprises may be enumerated by the UN (www.unstats.un.org) or its industrial development arm UNIDO (www.unido.org) or from local censuses of manufacturing and services. While the UN industry list can provide a useful categorisation, definition and basic information about potential strata to be surveyed, it does not provide the necessary database from which to draw the sample. This is usually taken from the following imperfect (neither exhaustive nor up-to-date) sources: (1) Company databases: In some markets, more likely to be within Developed Economies, there are specialised database providers which can provide fairly comprehensive listings of establishments. One example would be Duns Market Identifiers (D&B) which provides a list of business establishments according to their SIC coding. These listings may have to be purchased. (2) Directories: In many Economies there will be extensive White Pages listings as well as industry associations and similar networking organisations that keep information on membership (though these may not always be accessible). (3) Internal databases: IP agencies or sister agencies may keep their own internal customer database (e.g. on companies that have filed trademarks) used for database marketing, which may be of use.

3) B2B SAMPLING

The same rules of random sampling apply to enterprise (B2B) surveys as to consumer surveys. However, some researchers argue thatas a rule of thumbB2B surveys can have relatively lower sample sizes because the individuals who comprise the target market work within comparable structured environments and make decisions based on similar criteria. Therefore, fewer survey responses are required to identify patterns that we can assume are representative relevant of the rest of the target market. While this is controversial (some argue that the respondent is still a human being, and just as prone to irrationality), their behaviour is also strongly influenced by organisational structures, it is in any case useful to understand the degree of market / segment concentration (e.g. a market with no dominant companies vs. a market with dominant companies (less likely for IP surveys)).

4) APPROPRIATE DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Specifically for B2B surveys, the following approaches can be considered: (1) Direct mail is mostly ineffective for B2B. Managers are usually swamped with solicitations and have little time to respond to mailed questionnaires. (2) Online surveys. These are increasingly useful but can also suffer from low response rates; depending on how the respondents are engaged and incentivised (the Economist offers a free book).

(3) Phone interviewing is the most common method of data collection for straightforward B2B awareness surveys. The same advantages apply as in for general public surveys. Phone interviews are not well suited to lengthy questionnaires or complex subjects and there is usually a need to make the distinction between a research and a sales call.
(4) FTF interviews are preferred. The responses will invariably be more measured, thoughtful and detailed. But these interviews will also be more expensive. Focus groups are useful but harder to organise if the target respondents are from a narrow group.

5) B2B RESPONSE RATES

One major problem in B2B research is the declining response rate. Hence, it is crucial to ensure access to the appropriate decision makers. Intercedent suggests the following tips: Use only senior / seasoned interviewers to arrange and conduct the interviews. Ensure each interview is a value exchange / discussion from which the respondent can draw some useful insight. Commit to a White Paper or at least an Executive Summary of the key findings for each respondent. Consider including issues of interest to the respondent in the questionnaire. Provide a token gift as incentive (always at end of interview). Reveal the sponsor of the survey to negate any concern about the research being done for a competitor. Avoid over using scale questions (1-10, strongly agree, etc) especially in phone interviews.

6) RESPONDENT RIGHTS

Respondents to a survey give their valuable time and opinions for little in return. They have certain rights that should be upheld by everyone involved in the survey process. Businesspeople may tend to be more aware of these rights but they apply to all research respondents: The right to be informed: Research participants have the right to be informed of all aspects of a research task. Knowing what is involved, how long it will take, and what will be done with the data, a person can make an informed choice as to whether to participate, or not. The right to refuse: Everyone has the right to choose whether or not to participate in a survey. Some people relish this privilege, others such as the poorly educated or younger people are less aware. Persons who are uncomfortable with being interviewed for any reason should be given the opportunity to decline or withdraw.

The right to privacy and security: The nature of the marketing research implies some invasion of privacy and subsequent requests for personal information. Data collected in the course of conducting research must be held in strictest confidence and disposed of following completion of the study.

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